March/April 1998

Articles on the theme "Regeneration"

The Cosmic Dance
by Bob Gonzalez
How energy is transformed by Life's play. Foods and emotions that help regeneration.

An Ayurvedic Perspective
by Dinesh Mader
Ayurveda, the world's oldest science of healing, and its approach to regeneration.

The Jewel Within
by Rev. Pat Cross
A discussion of our spirituality and how we can recover our intrinsic abilities.

The Path of the Heart
by Carlos Warter MD
The importance of opening the heart to realize one's essential health and well-being, and achieve spiritual regeneration.

The New You
by Karin Pekarcik
How to reinvent yourself and create the You you really want to be.

The Psychology of Regeneration
by Patrick Plaskett
Undoing negative programming and becoming once again "as little children".

A New Light Body? by Audrey Craft Davis
Tuning into the body's ability to regenerate itself. A look at the future as we move into the fourth and fifth dimensions.

Physical Regeneration
by Zygmunt K. Skowronek
Concerning the importance of getting the nutrients we need in our diet.

Spiritual Regeneration
by Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati How meditation can lead to greater awareness of the moment and the God inside of you. Followed by a suggested meditation.

Walking on Fire
by Alvin Bartz
A hypnotherapist's account of a fire-walk experience. Regenerating the spirit to overcome self-limitations.

The Problem of Regeneration
by David Findlay
Making sure that what we re-generate is what we want to re-generate.

Other Feature Articles

Natural Health Q&A
by Eliabeth Fenton and Renee Gillombardo
A discussion of three characteristics of emotional health.

What is . . . A Medical Savings Account
by Susan Moyers
A tax-deferred savings account that allows you to select your own doctor and covers a variety of "alternative" therapies.

Spiritual Regeneration

Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

How can we regenerate, renew and restore ourselves spiritually? What happens when our lives have become dull and difficult. One way to renew oneself is through meditation.

To learn how to meditate is to know that you are part of God. Meditation will allow you to know your own perfection, your own beauty. It is indeed the answer to life's question: "Who am I?"

In order to find the answer, the ego mind must be silenced. One needs to quiet his or her thoughts. This happens when you focus and open yourself to the silence. Meditation is a gift, an opportunity. If you can take a few minutes to stop and be aware of your breath through meditation, concentration, and focusing, that awareness will give you strength over everything inside of you.

Within all of us, there is darkness and there is light. The light will nourish and nurture you. It can consume all negativity. One must make room for his or her own light. To find who you are and to love yourself begins with meditation even for five or ten minutes a day.

The past doesn't matter and the future's not here. Live in this moment; there are no other moments. Being in the moment brings bliss; being out of the moment brings anger. When you are in the moment, no matter what comes your way - sorrow, joy, hate, love - you are able to consume it with a simple awareness of the breath. The breath is the key. With this awareness your life will begin to change immediately.

The greatest asset you have is choice. You have a choice to meditate or not to meditate. You have a choice to find God inside of you or not, to be judgmental or not. You even have a choice to be happy or to be sad. Decide this moment to choose happiness. Choose this moment to find you and the very beauty of your being.

Begin breathing with concentrated awareness. When you are breathing in, say, "I am aware I am breathing in". When you breathe out, say, "I am aware I am breathing out". This awareness can change your life.

Once, the Buddha was asked, "What is it you teach your monks?"

He said, "I teach my monks to sleep, to eat, to walk, to go to the bathroom. That is what I teach."'

The gentleman replied, "But, I already do that."

The Buddha replied, "The difference is this: my monks do it with great awareness, and not a second of their life is wasted."

By being aware of your breath and feeling the breath going in and out, you can gather enough momentum in your life to live fully. Begin the day when you wake up and say, "Today I will love me; I will love me by ignoring my own chaos. I am determined to love me. I am determined to ignore me." You ignore the chatter. Don't try to stop the chatter because then you'll give it fuel. Try to breathe in the chatter and be determined to do this, not in a fierce, forceful way but in a gentle, very kind, loving way. Label your thoughts "thinking" and walk on with a brand new determination. Without meditation, life becomes difficult: you're constantly in stress. With meditation, or the desire to learn how to meditate, you become a much freer human being. By acknowledging the existence of God, nature or love with great humility and great love one can literally re-direct his or her life

The following meditation may be helpful:

Light a candle and look into the flame.
Sit very straight.
Breathe in and count to five, keep your eyes open and concentrate on the flame. Hold the breath in and count to five. Exhale to the count of five.
Breathe in again and as you breathe out, say relax.
Breathe in and count to five. Hold the breath for five counts. Breathe out.
Let the breath become normal. Keep your eyes open.
With every in breath your body will become calm and relaxed.
Gently, let the breath out; follow it.
Breathe in again and let the breath out slowly and gently. Hold the breath out a little bit longer.
Let the breath return to normal. Breathe into your heart. Feel the warmth spread throughout the chest and exhale out the top of the head.

This meditation can be done for five minutes to half an hour or more.

Meditation creates an essence and, when you learn how to prolong it, you can learn to live in this place. Meditation will leave you with a great awareness, and in that awareness you will find that you will be incapable of hurting anyone. But even more than that you will find that you are not willing or able to hurt yourself. And in this new awareness, you will be able to love yourself and regenerate your life.

Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati is an international spiritual teacher, caregiver and founder of Kashi Ashram, an interfaith spiritual community in Sebastian, Florida. For information on darshans with Ma, intensive retreats or events at Kashi call (800) 226-1008 ext. 100. (www.Kashifoundation.org)

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